Trump pardons six convicted of polluting emissions violations

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he has pardoned six individuals convicted of violating federal regulations concerning polluting gas emissions. The announcement, made on his social media platform Truth Social, came just before the 250th anniversary of the country's Independence.

Trump stated, "It is a great honor for me to have signed pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration and were in prison, or about to be sent there, for 'fixing their car.'" He further criticized his predecessor, characterizing the prosecutions as part of "political instrumentalization and stupidity" endured during the past four years under Joe Biden.

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It is a great honor for me to have signed pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration and were in prison, or about to be sent there, for 'fixing their car'.

While the White House has not yet released a list of the pardoned individuals, sources cited by CBS indicate that Trump is also considering clemency for prominent figures, including rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who was sentenced last year for offenses related to prostitution.

In 2025, Trump had previously pardoned Troy Lake, a mechanic from Wyoming who served seven months in prison for violating federal emissions laws by disabling pollution control equipment on diesel engines. Earlier this year, the Department of Justice instructed federal prosecutors to drop all pending cases and investigations against individuals in similar situations to Lake.

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Although this may sound ridiculous, it is still a fact and part of the political instrumentalization and stupidity that the country had to endure for four long years of 'Sleepy' Joe Biden.

Attorneys for some defendants had argued that such violations should be treated as civil infractions rather than criminal offenses under the Clean Air Act, the primary U.S. environmental legislation for controlling air pollution. Trump also urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deprioritize civil enforcement actions against the manipulation of emission control devices.

The pardons occur as a severe heatwave affects 70% of the United States, setting record high temperatures in several northeastern cities and threatening to disrupt Independence Day celebrations. A recent report by World Weather Attribution suggests that the combined intensity of the current heat and humidity in the U.S. would have been "virtually impossible" without the effects of fossil fuel pollution.

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I am releasing them all, right now.